VOE Butterfly Strategy
VOE (Vanguard Mid-Cap Value ETF), in the Financial Services sector, (Asset Management industry), listed on AMEX.
Seeks to track the performance of the CRSP US Mid Cap Value Index, which measures the investment return of mid-capitalization value stocks. Provides a convenient way to match the performance of a diversified group of midsize value companies. Follows a passively managed, full-replication approach.
VOE (Vanguard Mid-Cap Value ETF) trades in the Financial Services sector, specifically Asset Management, with a market capitalization of approximately $36.72B, a beta of 0.86 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 158.32-195.18, average daily share volume of 330K, a public-listing history dating back to 2006. These structural characteristics shape how VOE etf options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 0.86 places VOE roughly in line with broader market moves, so the strategy payoff and realized volatility track the index-equivalent baseline. VOE pays a dividend, which adjusts put-call parity and shifts the ex-dividend pricing across the listed chain.
What is a butterfly on VOE?
A long call butterfly buys one lower-strike call, sells two ATM calls, and buys one higher-strike call, paying a small net debit for a defined-risk position that maxes out if the underlying pins the middle strike at expiration.
Current VOE snapshot
As of May 15, 2026, spot at $190.81, ATM IV 15.50%, IV rank 23.97%, expected move 4.44%. The butterfly on VOE below is built from the same end-of-day chain, with strikes snapped to listed contracts and premiums pulled from the bid/ask midpoint at a 34-day expiry.
Why this butterfly structure on VOE specifically: VOE IV at 15.50% is on the cheap side of its 1-year range, which favors premium-buying structures like a VOE butterfly, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 4.44% (roughly $8.48 on the underlying). The 34-day window matched to the front-month expiry keeps theta exposure bounded while still capturing the post-snapshot move; longer-dated VOE expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on VOE should anchor to the underlying notional of $190.81 per share and to the trader's directional view on VOE etf.
VOE butterfly setup
The VOE butterfly below is built from the end-of-day chain, with each option leg priced at the bid/ask midpoint of its listed strike. With VOE near $190.81, the first option leg uses a $181.00 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed VOE chain at a 34-day expiry; the cross-strike IV skew is reflected directly in the per-leg values rather than approximated. Quantity sizing assumes one contract per option leg (or 100 VOE shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 1 | Call | $181.00 | $11.80 |
| Sell 2 | Call | $191.00 | $4.50 |
| Buy 1 | Call | $200.00 | $1.26 |
VOE butterfly risk and reward
- Net Premium / Debit
- -$406.00
- Max Profit (per contract)
- $516.62
- Max Loss (per contract)
- -$406.00
- Breakeven(s)
- $185.06, $196.94
- Risk / Reward Ratio
- 1.272
Max profit equals the wing width minus net debit times 100 (reached when the underlying pins the middle strike); max loss equals the net debit times 100. Two breakevens at lower-wing plus debit and upper-wing minus debit.
VOE butterfly payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the butterfly on VOE. Each row is one sampled price point from the computed payoff curve; the full curve uses 200 price points internally before being summarized into 10 rows here.
| Underlying Price | % From Spot | P&L at Expiration |
|---|---|---|
| $0.01 | -100.0% | -$406.00 |
| $42.20 | -77.9% | -$406.00 |
| $84.39 | -55.8% | -$406.00 |
| $126.57 | -33.7% | -$406.00 |
| $168.76 | -11.6% | -$406.00 |
| $210.95 | +10.6% | -$306.00 |
| $253.14 | +32.7% | -$306.00 |
| $295.33 | +54.8% | -$306.00 |
| $337.51 | +76.9% | -$306.00 |
| $379.70 | +99.0% | -$306.00 |
When traders use butterfly on VOE
Butterflies on VOE are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect VOE to settle near a specific level at expiration (often the prior close, a round number, or the max-pain strike) and want defined-risk exposure to that outcome.
VOE thesis for this butterfly
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for VOE extends from approximately $182.33 on the downside to $199.29 on the upside. A VOE long call butterfly is a pinning play: it pays maximum at the middle strike if VOE settles there at expiration, with the wing legs capping both the cost and the maximum loss to the net debit. Current VOE IV rank near 23.97% sits in the lower third of its 1-year distribution, where IV often re-expands toward the mean; this favors premium-buying structures and disadvantages premium-selling structures on VOE at 15.50%. As a Financial Services name, VOE options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to VOE-specific events.
VOE butterfly positions are structurally neutral / pin (limited-risk, limited-reward); the modeled P&L assumes European-style exercise at expiration and ignores early assignment, transaction costs, dividends paid before expiry on the stock leg (when present), and the bid-ask spread on the listed chain. VOE positions also carry Financial Services sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move VOE alongside the broader basket even when VOE-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current VOE chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a butterfly on VOE?
- A butterfly on VOE is the butterfly strategy applied to VOE (etf). The strategy is structurally neutral / pin (limited-risk, limited-reward): A long call butterfly buys one lower-strike call, sells two ATM calls, and buys one higher-strike call, paying a small net debit for a defined-risk position that maxes out if the underlying pins the middle strike at expiration. With VOE etf trading near $190.81, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed VOE chain strike and the premiums come straight from the end-of-day bid/ask midpoint.
- How are VOE butterfly max profit and max loss calculated?
- Max profit equals the wing width minus net debit times 100 (reached when the underlying pins the middle strike); max loss equals the net debit times 100. Two breakevens at lower-wing plus debit and upper-wing minus debit. For the VOE butterfly priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 15.50%), the computed maximum profit is $516.62 per contract and the computed maximum loss is -$406.00 per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
- What is the breakeven for a VOE butterfly?
- The breakeven for the VOE butterfly priced on this page is roughly $185.06 and $196.94 at expiration, derived from end-of-day chain premiums. Breakeven is the underlying price at which the strategy's P&L crosses zero ignoring transaction costs and assignment risk. The current VOE market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move is approximately 4.44%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a butterfly on VOE?
- Butterflies on VOE are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect VOE to settle near a specific level at expiration (often the prior close, a round number, or the max-pain strike) and want defined-risk exposure to that outcome.
- How does current VOE implied volatility affect this butterfly?
- VOE ATM IV is at 15.50% with IV rank near 23.97%, which is on the low end of its 1-year range. Premium-buying structures (long call, long put, debit spreads) are relatively cheap in this regime; premium-selling structures collect less credit per unit risk.